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Body Parts As a student of anthropology, I'm interested in the cultural significance of body parts, particularly in terms of what is desireable or deemed beautiful. As one can expect with humans, much emphasis is based on body parts in terms of wealth. Many years ago, and in many non-Western cultures today, plump bodies are seen as desireable. In a world where food is not easy to come by, or where food requires much physical work to get, plump bodies are literally signs of food excess. Signs of wealth. In patriarchal societies, keeping a plump wife (or wives) is proof of being a great provier. It is a sign of power. And no doubt the plump women feel beautiful & desired.
Conversely, in Western societies, where physical work is at a minimum and food is 'everywhere' if not laden with sweets & fat, and bodies are now 'naturally' soft & full, slim & hard bodies are a sign of wealth. For to overcome our sedentary lives vast amounts of recreational time are required. If these small tight bodies are not sculpted by hiking, biking and other athletic exploits, then gym memberships and costly regimes will do the trick. And let's not forget the surgical options. In any scenario, we see the skinny & toned as wealthy folks who have the luxury of time away from sedentary work or able to afford means to counteract such jobs. And so the plump no longer feel beautiful & desired.
Long nails were once a sign of a lady of leisure. Not forced by economic necessity to work with her hands, her nails were proof of her delicate, feminine ways. The longer the nails, the less work she has to do. Some argue this is akin to placing limits on what women can do ~ by virtue of 'not having to' she is also now 'unable to do.' What would a lady do with her spare time? What womanly arts would she practice? For some, it was needlework. For others, her free time equated with her knowledge of sex. Dragon Lady nails of the Orient were proof of a woman's ability to seduce. The longer the nails, the more wealth (if not direct power) a woman had. To some extent, this ideal lives on today. In a world of keyboards which ravage nails, manicured nails are luxuries which show both the time & money for such appointments.
Pale skin, the literal meaning of a fair lady, was evidence of a life of luxury. A lady did not toil in the sun. She was not subject to real work, was not employed in the basic needs of survival. She was a Lady. Today, as we Westerners are confined indoors, chained to desks, boxed in cubicles, we value the tanned among us. Tans, like the slim & toned bodies mentioned earlier, are signs of those who are unchained to their jobs, unfettered from the daily grind. The tanned bodies are achieved in exotic ports or gained by virtue of a life outside and away from fluorescent lighting. Even fake-n-bake tans are signs of freedom and wealth. For parts of the subculture, such as goths, pale skin is seen as antiestablishmentarian ~ an ode to a time gone by, if not an opposition (as night is to day) of the way things ought to be.
As all Sex Kittens are a part of the cultures in which they live, we take these cultural signifiers and we combine them with our own experiences and come up with our own value tags to our parts and appearance. And of course, we also attach values to the parts of others. In this issue, we look at our thoughts on body parts...
While this is by no means 'all' on the subject, it is a start. As always, we welcome your thoughts, so please join us on the message boards.
With much affection,
Gracie
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